What this discussion has failed to note is that in some (perhaps most)
cases, the problem is not the contacts
at all, but rather the bearings. When I built two of these paddles back
when they were initially offered, both
exhibited the "intermittant contacts" syndrome. As soon as I heard
about them, I ordered and installed the
silvered relay contacts in both paddles, but they continued to show the
same symptoms.
The Arizona ScQRPions apparently experienced the same problem with the
NorCal paddle and incorporated
a fix in the offering of their own paddle kit. I built one of their
paddles and found that the contacts were 100%
reliable. Shortly thereafter, I "borrowed" their idea and used it on
the NorCal paddle. I drilled two small holes
through the base, directly behind the bearings. I soldered single
strands from stranded hookup wire to the under-
side of each arm in line with the newly drilled holes. The wires are
fed through the holes, the arms are re-mounted
on their bearings, and the other ends of the wires are soldered to the
ground lug on the underside of the base.
This completely solved my "intermittant contacts" problem!
More recently, my friend W4OV managed to find an unbuilt NorCal kit and
put it together. He found he was
having the same problem with the contacts. He also ordered a set of the
silvered relay contacts, but has yet
to install them. But he did do the mod I described above, and it also
cured his problem.
--
73, Bob Patten, N4BP Plantation, FL
E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.qsl.net/n4bp
QRP ARCI #3412 SOC #1 ARS #799 Whiners #6 FISTS #7871
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